Tag: Taylor Rapp

Jalen Ramsey explains what happened on Emmanuel Sanders’ 46-yard catch

There was a clear mix-up between Jalen Ramsey and Taylor Rapp on the 49ers’ final drive.

There were several turning points in Saturday’s game between the Rams and 49ers. Jared Goff’s pick-six before the half comes to mind, as does the 49ers first third-and-16 conversion on their final possession.

None were bigger than the 46-yard pass to Emmanuel Sanders on third-and-16 to set up Robbie Gould’s game-winning field goal, though. It was the second time on that very drive that San Francisco converted on third-and-16, this time with Jalen Ramsey and Taylor Rapp in coverage.

It was a bizarre play by the two defensive backs, appearing to be a miscommunication. Ramsey played trail technique underneath Sanders, expecting Rapp to cover the deep half. Instead, Rapp went to the corner and left Sanders wide open down the middle.

Here’s a look at the play.

In the locker room after the game, Ramsey explained what happened.

“It wasn’t me and Eric. E-Dub was on the other side. It was me and Rapp,” Ramsey said. “We as in a form of two-man. We had an adjustment check to it because they was condensed splits. I played my technique, trusting that he was going to be over the top. And he wasn’t. That’s just what happened.”

Based on Ramsey’s reaction after the play and in the locker room, he wasn’t thrilled with the way Rapp played the route. He was expecting help over the top, which he didn’t get. It was a costly play, but it’s not the sole reason the Rams missed the playoffs.

They had several opportunities to save their season, both on Saturday night and in weeks prior. Ramsey’s frustration is understandable, though, given the way the year went for him and the Rams.

Twitter reacts to Rams’ loss, blown coverage vs. 49ers

Here’s how Twitter reacted to the Rams’ heartbreaking loss to the 49ers.

After winning the NFC West in each of the last two seasons, the Los Angeles Rams not only failed to make it three straight division titles, but they won’t even be returning to the playoffs. They were officially eliminated from contention on Saturday night at Levi’s Stadium, losing 34-31 to the 49ers.

It was as heartbreaking as a loss can come, allowing the 49ers to convert on third-and-16 twice on the final drive before Robbie Gould drilled a 33-yard field goal to win it.

The biggest play of the game was a blown coverage by Jalen Ramsey and Taylor Rapp, which resulted in a 46-yard gain by Emmanuel Sanders to set up the winning kick. Here’s how Twitter reacted to the loss and the huge play by Sanders.

 

Eric Weddle says Taylor Rapp is ‘lightyears ahead of most rookies’

Eric Weddle says Taylor Rapp has become one of the best safeties in the NFL – not just one of the best rookies.

Taylor Rapp was viewed as a first-round prospect by a lot of draft analysts and it wouldn’t have been the least bit surprising to see him go in the late 20s or early 30s back in April. The Rams got a steal by selecting him 51st overall after trading back three times, and while they already had two starting safeties, he was a long-term addition with a very high ceiling.

He turned into an almost-immediate contributor after John Johnson was placed on IR, thrusting Rapp into the starting lineup. Eric Weddle has taken him under his wing and helped him develop into one of the best safeties in the league, regardless of experience.

In the locker room Thursday, Weddle discussed how well Rapp has been playing and shared his excitement for the rookie pulling down his first career interception.

“He was lightyears ahead of most rookies. It’s tough to come in this league and he’s always put his head down, he’s always trying to learn, he’s always trying to get better and work hard and work on maybe his deficiencies in pass games or practice,” Weddle said. “Just seeing his growth, his confidence and us working well together. We sit by each other, we talk ball, we’re talking concepts, we’re just talking about what I see, what I can help him with and he’s just on the ball.”

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Weddle is like a coach on the field and playing the same position as Rapp, the two are in constant communication throughout the game. Weddle is impressed with Rapp’s ability to digest what he’s saying and use it to get better.

“Anytime I say something to him or relay something to him, even in the middle of the game, he’s on top of it the next series,” Weddle added. “He’s been not only one of the best rookies, but over the last 10 games, one of the best safeties out there. His tackling ability, he’s covering, his playmaking. Couldve had three or four picks if he could catch, but those times will come. The sky’s the limit for him, I’m just happy that I can share the field with him and help him as much as I can.”

Rapp has quickly become a top safety in the NFL, ranking fifth at his position on Pro Football Focus’ grading system since Week 7 – the week he took over as a starter. He’s arguably been the better of the two between himself and Weddle, which is saying a lot considering their gap in experience.

Needless to say, he’s been a valuable addition to the roster, and more importantly, the starting lineup this year.

5 takeaways from the Rams’ 16-point victory against Seattle

The Los Angeles Rams took care of the Seattle Seahawks in a must-win game on Sunday Night Football. Here are a few takeaways from the big win.

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The Los Angeles Rams took care of business against the Seattle Seahawks in dominant fashion on Sunday night. It was a must-win for the Rams, who remain a game out of a playoff spot in the NFC at 8-5. Here are five takeaways from the big 28-12 win.

Goff produces another stellar performance

Jared Goff was able to get back on track last week against Arizona after a fairly rocky season so far. Arizona’s pass defense is awful, so it was hard to decipher whether or not it was a return to form for Goff or simply a result of bad defense. After tonight’s performance, it feels like the former.

Goff once again shined against Seattle on a big stage, completing 22 of his 31 passing attempts for 293 yards and two touchdowns. Goff was particularly impressive out of the pocket, completing all seven of those passes for 134 yards and a touchdown. We were reminded why the Rams gave Goff a big payday this summer tonight.

Still, there was a brief stretch in the third quarter where Goff looked rough. He threw a pick-six thanks to a miscommunication on a pass to Robert Woods. The interception wasn’t entirely Goff’s fault, but he should know where Woods is heading on that play. A few plays later, with the ball on Seattle’s 37-yard line, Goff tossed a deep ball into double coverage that was intercepted. It wasn’t a shot Goff needed to take at the time.

One major takeaway from Goff’s two interceptions isn’t the interceptions themselves, but that he was able to come back from them. Goff threw a few nice passes following the turnovers, including a dime down the sideline that was dropped by Brandin Cooks and a great play-action rollout pass to Tyler Higbee deep in Rams’ territory. If Goff can continue to play like he did tonight for the remainder of the season, the Rams might actually find themselves playing in January.

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Taylor Rapp rising the ranks as one of the NFL’s best rookies

Taylor Rapp has quickly emerged as one of the best rookies in the NFL.

After 50 picks were made in this year’s draft, the Los Angeles Rams finally joined the fun and made their first selection – after trading back three times. They wound up with Washington safety Taylor Rapp, who was viewed as one of the best prospects at his position in the class.

He wasn’t expected to be a full-time starter as a rookie with Eric Weddle and John Johnson already at safety, but with Johnson out, Rapp has become a key player on defense. He’s also turned out to be one of the top rookies in the league, regardless of position.

Pro Football Focus ranked the best rookies after 13 weeks and Rapp cracked the top 10. He was No. 8 on the list after breaking through with a huge performance against the Cardinals.

The start to his rookie campaign was a slow one, but Taylor Rapp is picking up steam as of late — his 82.5 overall grade since Week 7 is the fifth best among all qualifying safeties. In that timespan, Rapp has produced the third most defensive stops (20), fifth most combined pass breakups and interceptions (five) and has allowed just a 65.2 passer rating (seventh). Rapp has produced his best plays for the Rams when playing free safety — since Week 7, Rapp has played more snaps at that alignment then he had during the first six weeks and has had an 84.3 grade in that role, ranking behind only Tyrann Mathieu and Minkah Fitzpatrick.

Rapp has made the transition from rookie backup to full-time starter look easy, playing at a consistently high level in the secondary. He can play free and strong safety, but he’s best when lining up in the box and near the line of scrimmage.

His pick-six against Arizona showed exactly why the Rams liked him out of Washington, displaying great awareness and instincts by reading Kyler Murray’s eyes and getting in the throwing lane.

He’s only going to get better, too, which makes the idea of Rapp and Johnson starting at safety in 2020 all the more exciting.

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Rams Film Room: Taylor Rapp breaks out with first INT, 2 close calls

Taylor Rapp had his best game of the season, nearly picking off three passes.

The Rams traded back three times in the 2019 draft before finally settling on safety Taylor Rapp out of Washington. With Eric Weddle and John Johnson already penciled in as the starters, Rapp seemed like more of a luxury pick for a team that had just made the Super Bowl.

Rapp has been anything but that, stepping in as a starter when Johnson went down with a shoulder injury that landed him on IR. He’s improved as the season has gone on, culminating in a breakout performance against the Cardinals on Sunday.

Rapp finished with two tackles, but more importantly, he picked off the first pass of his career and returned it 31 yards for a touchdown. As great as that was, his game could’ve been so much better.

Before his pick-six, he dropped what should have been an interception. Later in the game, he had an INT called back due to a defensive pass interference penalty on Nickell Robey-Coleman. Finally, he broke through with one that counted, and he was relieved to get on the board with his first INT.

“The first one, I was so mad at myself, and the game back in London (against the Bengals), too, I dropped another sure (interception), so I was super mad at myself,” Rapp said, via the team’s site. “I was thinking about that one all the way up until I got the one that actually counted, so I was happy I could get one under my belt.”

It was a bad throw by Kyler Murray, but an even better play by Rapp, who “was able to read his eyes, and able to capitalize on it,” as the safety put it.

Watching his pick-six on the coaches film really shows what a great job Rapp did of reading Murray’s eyes and breaking on the ball to make the play. He sunk down in a robber-type coverage, taking away underneath routes. The receiver got behind him, but by retreating enough into the zone, he was able to get in the passing lane.

The end zone view gives an even better look at what Rapp saw. He initially bit on the play-action fake, but he didn’t get too far out of position and was still able to come down with the pick.

As good as this play was, his near-INT earlier in the game may have been even better had he hauled it in. It was a clear pick play by the Cardinals, attempting to get Kenyan Drake open in the flat.

Rapp did a great job getting around the pick and covering his assignment (Drake) in time to break up the pass. The only thing he didn’t do was catch the ball, otherwise he would’ve been headed to the end zone again.

The interception he had called back wasn’t exactly a standout play by the rookie, but it did show off his instincts and play recognition. That’s something Sean McVay talked about on Monday in evaluating Rapp’s play, saying he continues to get better.

“I think you’re starting to see the versatility and really just the overall instincts and how that enables him to play faster in those close quarters,” McVay said. “You can see there is a comfort in the scheme, he has an ownership on what he’s being asked to do in the framework of that specific call.”

On this play, Rapp recognizes the routes are both going to the left side. He starts to leave his split-zone assignment and heads towards the middle of the field, reading Murray’s eyes once again. He found himself in the right place at the right time, picking off the pass after a deflection.

In addition to lauding his instincts, McVay also complimented Rapps’ tackling ability. He has 72 tackles on the season and has only missed one attempt – a missed-tackle rate of 1.4%. That’s the lowest in the NFL among players with at least 50 tackles. That trait of his game wasn’t highlighted much against Arizona – he only had two tackles – but he did show why he’s a reliable defender.

“When he arrives, he gets guys down quickly. He’s a great tackler. Ironically, Taylor Rapp is a great wrap tackler,” McVay said.

Here, he comes up from his deep zone and makes a sure tackle on Larry Fitzgerald after the catch over the middle. He wrapped up the future Hall of Famer low and did not allow him to gain any additional yardage.

Rapp changed directions quickly and was coming downhill before Fitzgerald even hauled it in.

On this tackle, Rapp was in man coverage on Charles Clay. It was another rub route designed to free up the underneath receiver, and although Rapp had to work around the pick, he still made a strong tackle, once again going low.

This was Rapp’s best performance of the season, and he very easily could’ve had three interceptions. He earned an overall grade of 86.4 from Pro Football Focus, which was the second-highest on the Rams defense this week.

If Weddle retires after this season, or plays elsewhere in 2020, Rapp has proved to be more than capable of being a starter at safety next to Johnson for several years to come.

Watch: Sean McVay hands out game balls after Rams’ win vs. Arizona

Four players received game balls after Sunday’s win.

The Rams put it all together against the Cardinals on Sunday afternoon in Arizona, rolling to a 34-7 victory. It was their most complete game of the season, maintaining control from start to finish with very few blemishes on the day.

It was a much-needed win after being blown out by the Ravens, especially considering how tight the NFC playoff race is.

After the game, Sean McVay handed out game balls to four players for their roles in the win. None of them are particularly surprising, given the impact they had on Sunday.

But before doing that, he gave a speech in the locker room to fire up his players.

Taylor Rapp certainly deserved a game ball for his pick-six, while Tyler Higbee’s career day warranted one, too. Robert Woods’ 172 yards were a big part of the win, as was Jared Goff’s near-perfect performance.

5 takeaways from Rams’ 34-7 victory in Arizona

The Los Angeles Rams dominated the Arizona Cardinals in Week 13. Here are a few takeaways from the victory.

The Los Angeles Rams flashed back to last season on Sunday against the Cardinals, looking like the team that made it all the way to the Super Bowl. They dominated Arizona for the fifth straight time, winning 34-7 in Arizona. The Rams were in control the entire game, jumping out to a 34-0 lead before garbage time began.

It wasn’t until midway through the fourth quarter that the Cardinals got on the scoreboard as Kyler Murray led a touchdown drive with his back against the wall. He capped it off with a nifty 15-yard touchdown run, giving the Cardinals their first score of the day.

Here are a few takeaways from the Rams’ dominant win over the Cardinals.

Defense smothers Cardinals’ offense

Other than Murray’s aforementioned garbage time drive, Kliff Kingsbury and his quarterback had a miserable day against the Rams’ defense. It was an unrelenting performance by the Rams through the first three quarters. The Cardinals failed to score points on their first nine drive, which included four three-and-outs and just one drive of at least 30 yards.

It was a return to form for a defense that had been dominant for most of the season before being dismantled by Lamar Jackson and the Ravens in primetime last week. Murray was sacked six times and six different Rams were credited with sacks. Everybody on the defensive side deserves credit for this win.

It was the fifth time this year where the Rams held an opponent to 10 points or less. If they want to have a shot at the playoffs, it hopefully won’t be the last.

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Watch: Taylor Rapp gets first career INT, returns it 31 yards for TD

Taylor Rapp made sure this one counted after nearly having two interceptions earlier in the game.

Taylor Rapp is just a rookie, but he’s had a big impact on the Rams this season. Since taking over as a start when John Johnson went down with a season-ending shoulder injury, Rapp has played well and gotten better each week.

On Sunday, he finally pulled down his first career interception, and he made sure this one counted. After having an interception called back due to an overturned pass interference penalty on Nickell Robey-Coleman earlier in the game and dropping a would-be pick-six, Rapp intercepted Kyler Murray and returned it 31 yards for a touchdown.

It was his first takeaway and touchdown, and it was a beauty. He read Murray like a book and did a great job to get in the throwing lane, picking it off by high-pointing the pass.

Why Monday night could be Taylor Rapp’s breakout game for Rams

Taylor Rapp could be in for a huge performance against the Ravens.

Containing Lamar Jackson on Monday night will be priority No. 1 for the Los Angeles Rams. No team has truly discovered a way to do that this season, which is why he’s likely the frontrunner to win NFL MVP at this point.

His skill set is so difficult to defend, because he’s so accurate throwing the ball but even more dangerous when he pulls it down and runs. The Chargers did the best job against Jackson of any team in the last two seasons, holding him in check en route to their playoff win over the Ravens.

The Chargers got it done by using a lot of dime packages and putting defensive backs all over the field, which helped match the speed of Jackson. The Rams will likely do the same, given how reliant they’ve been on dime packages with three safeties and three corners on the field.

Taylor Rapp is someone who has played extremely well for the Rams lately, taking over as the starting safety next to Eric Weddle after John Johnson went down with an injury. As important as Aaron Donald, Jalen Ramsey and Cory Littleton are in this game against Baltimore, Rapp could have a breakout performance.

Expect the Rams to use him as a spy on Jackson, allowing him to shadow the dynamic quarterback near the line of scrimmage. That allows Littleton to focus on the run with players such as Mark Ingram and Gus Edwards, but also keeping corners matched up on wideouts.

Against both the run and in coverage, Rapp has been excellent for the Rams. And he’s going to have a big impact on this game.

Against the run

Rapp is so good as a box safety, using his instincts and awareness to make quick reads against the offense. This is a great example of that, as he sees Mitchell Trubisky hand it off to the running back on the read-option, crashing down and making the stop after the cutback.

This is another excellent play by Rapp in the box. He’s in man coverage on the tight end, but after seeing him engage as a blocker, Rapp follows the running back to the edge and makes the tackle for a loss.

Aaron Donald ruined this play with quick penetration, but Rapp made a great read to tackle the ball carrier behind the line of scrimmage.

Lastly, here’s another play from the Steelers game. On third-and-1, Rapp sees the handoff and knifes around the edge to wrap up the running back’s legs for a stop at the line of scrimmage.

It forced a fourth-and-1, which the Steelers converted, but Rapp was the reason Pittsburgh didn’t pick up the first on third down.

In coverage

In coverage, Rapp will be equally valuable. The Ravens utilize their tight ends often in the passing game with Mark Andrews leading the team in targets, receptions and yards. Nick Boyle is third in receiving, and Hayden Hurst is fifth.

On Monday night, Jackson is going to target his tight ends often, and at times, Rapp will be in man coverage against them.

Although he had some trouble against Tyler Eifert and the Bengals, Rapp has been great against tight ends this season. In man coverage against the big pass catchers, he’s able to use his size and quickness to consistently get into good position to defend the pass.

Against the Browns, he carried the tight end into the end zone in trail technique and go his hand up at the perfect moment to break up the pass.

This looks like a fairly simple play, but it’s not an easy throw to defend without being flagged for pass interference. The tight end sits down on an inside hook with Rapp in coverage. Instead of going through the receiver to break up the pass, he goes around him and gets his hand in there to cause the incompletion.

This is a simple box-out route by the tight end, attempting to box out the defender like a power forward trying to get a rebound.

Finally, Rapp has good eyes in zone coverage. Here, he reads Andy Dalton like a book, following his eyes to the receiver. The rookie jumps the route and gets two hands on the ball, but he just couldn’t bring it in for the interception (and possible pick-six).

Still, it’s a great play by Rapp to defend the pass, reading the quarterback perfectly.

Rapp is the best tackler on the Rams defense. He’s only missed one tackle all season, which is a rate of only 1.6%. That’s the lowest missed-tackle percentage of any player in the NFL with at least 50 tackles.

It’s a fundamental aspect of football, but one Rapp has mastered in his first season. Wrapping up ball carriers will be extremely important for the Rams, and the more often Rapp can get his hands on running backs and Jackson, the better off Los Angeles’ defense will be.

This could be a breakout game for the rookie safety out of Washington.